Apple caramel cheesecake (raw)

Ingredients 

'Pastry’ base

• 100g walnuts
• 30g almonds
• 10 dates
• 1 tbsp coconut syrup
• 2 tsp apple juice

Cheesecake

• 100g cashews – soaked and patted dry
• 4 tbsp coconut syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp coconut butter - melted
• 2 tbsp coconut milk

Caramel and apple sauce

• 2 apples – peeled, cored and diced
• 20 dates
• 3 tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• A little warm water if required

Method

To make the pastry:

1. In a food processor blitz the walnuts and almond to a powder.
2. Add the dates, coconut syrup and apple juice and blend until you have a thick sticky paste.
3. Turn this straight into your cheesecake (ringed) tin (having lightly greased it with coconut oil). Press firmly down ensuring that the mixture is compacted into the base and well into the corners of the tray. Put this in the freezer to firm up.

To make the cheesecake: 

1. Blend the cashews, coconut syrup, vanilla paste and lemon juice in a food processor until you have a smooth paste.
2. Add the coconut butter and coconut milk and blend again to fully combined.
3. Remove the base from the freezer and pour the cheesecake filling over it. Chill down in the fridge for about 12 hours before removing the ring from the tin.

To make the sauce:

1. In a food processor combine ¾ of the diced apple, dates, maple syrup, vanilla paste. Blitz until you have a coarse but well combined paste. You can add a little warm water to the mixture to help it form a nice caramel.
2. Pour this into a mixing bowl and stir through the remaining diced apple. Smooth this mixture over the cheesecake, you can do this before removing the ring from the tin to help prevent the cheesecake collapsing if you like! Remove the ring, and serve!